You are never too old…

“I have an announcement to make. Frosty the Snow Man is a fake and I don’t like him,” my three-year-old niece, London, announced at Christmas Eve dinner at my house this year.

All of us around the table were stunned at this news and dissolved into side-splitting laughter. Even now as I recall her oh-so-serious declaration, I’m smiling. I still don’t know what Frosty did to get on London’s bad side, but he or somebody’s got some “splaining” to do!

Like London, I, too, have an announcement: We are only as amazing and powerful as our most bodacious dreams! Whether we’re dreaming of the perfect job, a dream home, or making some life-saving technological or medical discovery, we can’t just dream it; we must invest in it, eat, sleep and breathe it. WE MUST OWN IT in every way!

If your dreams aren’t keeping you awake or distracting you from your dailiness, are they really worthy of your time and energy? When I was growing up in rural West Tennessee, my dreams of being a fashion model or a San Francisco private detective immediately whisked me away from the endless rows of cotton, okra and squash. I could see myself in the beautiful clothes, driving a sporty convertible and helping that cute Perry Mason solve crimes. (I took full advantage of the three official television channels we had and never complained that there was nothing on!) I wouldn’t have made it without my dreams!

This powerful quote above from C.S. Lewis is a poignant reminder that dreams are an important part of who we are and how we live our lives. Dreams fuel our future, provide a respite from daily doldrums and give God some special quiet time with us. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has big plans for us—plans to prosper us and give us a future with hope. I believe dreams help us know and listen to God’s heart.

Take a look at where you are today and Tweet or Facebook me this week with your dreams and thoughts:

Are you living into your dreams? It’s easy to daydream during meetings and plan what your life could look like but when you wake up, are you taking concrete steps to live faithfully? Does what you’re doing inspire the rest of us? Does your life help us to imagine our own possibilities? Are you challenging us to learn more, to be, know and want more–not more stuff but more personal fulfillment, more meaning to what we do?

When was the last time you dreamed something so bodacious and scary you had to bring out your “A” game? I believe Robert Kiyosaki’s right: “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.”

In business competition is good—when a new hotel comes to town, their competitors discard the worn chairs, scratchy towels and dingy carpets to enhance their curb appeal. Dreams are much the same way—if they’re not big and bold enough, the question from the movie The Lion King jolts us out of our complacency: “Are you more than you have become?”

Fear of failure, lack of trust and shaky faith are all dream busters. Today we can choose to wallow in fear or walk by faith. Which will you choose?